Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Actor Brittany Murphy, who got her start in the movie Clueless, died of cardiac arrest at her L.A. home Dec. 20 at the age of 32. The original autopsy was finished on December 21st and concluded that Murphy had died of natural causes; however, an investigator's notes in the coroner's office stated that there was a staggering amount of prescription drugs inside Murphy's LA home. "The investigator's notes reveal that Murphy "had been complaining of shortness of breath and severe abdominal pain" for 7 to 10 days before her death", reports the Examiner. A prescription drug overdose is what investigators are now trying to determine as the cause of the cardiac arrest. It will take 4-6 weeks before a toxicology report is completed. What's strange about Murphy's life and death is that she claimed that she never had tried hard drugs and prescription drugs were too powerful, "I am way too high-strung to do drugs. I can't even take a Sudafed. Can you imagine? My God. I think my heart would explode", according to the Examiner. It appears that Brittany Murphy may have followed the same path as DJ AM and Michael Jackson; three, possible prescription drug overdoses amongst stars in 2009.

The investigators' notes stated that the nightstands at the Murphy residence contained large amounts of prescription medications with Murphy's name on the bottles. There were a lot of empty prescription bottles in Brittany's husband, mother, and unidentified third parties' names. Yet, she never used or had a drug problem, she was perhaps able to hide her addiction problems from everyone. The drugs that Brittany had prescriptions for were:

Topamax (anti-seizure med)

Methylprednisolone (anti-inflammatory)

Fluoxetine (depression med)

Klonopin (anxiety med)

Carbamazepine (treats diabetic symptoms and is also a bipolar med)

Ativan (anxiety med)

Vicoprofen (pain reliever)

Propranolol (hypertension)

Biaxin (antibiotic)

Hydrocodone (pain medication)

It is clear just from that list of drugs that there was a tragedy unfolding in Brittany's life and it inevitably killed her. A beautiful, 32 year old star lost perhaps to the grips of addiction. Prescription medications are just as dangerous and life threatening than drugs that can be found on the street; 2009 has been a year that reminded us that prescription drugs are a clear and present danger. In the next few weeks there will be more developments that come to the surface, we will have a better understanding as people come forward - someone had to be aware of Murphy's addiction problems.